Kansas City, Missouri (CNN) – Days before Congress' summer break begins, President Barack Obama used a Wednesday morning speech here to lambast Republicans who are preparing to sue him rather than take action on some of his agenda items.

Democrats think they've struck fundraising gold with the Republican threat of a lawsuit against the White House, as well as the specter of impeachment some members of the party have raised. Since Friday, Democratic electoral committees sent more than a dozen e-mails using the issues to stir their supporters into donating money.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, tasked with electing Democrats to the House, said they'd raised more than a million dollars in online donations using the tactic.

House Speaker John Boehner announced plans earlier this summer to file suit against Obama for circumventing Congress on changes to his health care law, which some Republicans said was unconstitutional.

Obama has slammed the move as a political stunt, egging Republicans on with the quip "so sue me" during a speech in early July.

“They’re mad because I’m doing my job,” Obama said on Wednesday, calling on lawmakers to instead take action on closing tax loopholes and pass new laws he said will spur job creation.

“We can do so much more if Congress would just come on and help out a little bit,” he said. “Just come on. Come on and help out a little bit.”

Separately, some Republicans have suggested Obama could be impeached for exceeding his authority as president, including former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and others in the conservative wing of the GOP.

Boehner wrote off any talk of impeachment as a Democratic fundraising ploy on Tuesday.

"They're trying to rally their people to give money and to show up in this year's elections," he said.

The White House was quick to cite a list of Republicans who have floated impeaching Obama, saying Boehner's description of the idea as simply a Democratic talking point ignored the statements of some of his members.

"If that's the case, then I suspect that there may be members of the Republican conference that didn't receive the memo," Press Secretary Josh Earnest said.

During his remarks on Wednesday at a historic theater, Obama cast the Republican lawsuit as a distraction from the real work he wants Congress to be doing, including closing a legal loophole that allows big corporations to incorporate overseas to avoid paying U.S. taxes.

Obama cast such tactics as unpatriotic.

“They've always been American companies. They took advantage of all the benefits of being an American company but now their accountant has convinced them maybe they can get out of paying some taxes,” he said.

“It ain't right. Not only is it not right, it ain't right.”

While he was in Missouri Obama met with four people who'd written him letters detailing their struggles and successes in the uncertain economy. The President met the Kansas Citians over ribs and pulled pork at Arthur Bryant's restaurant, which has served the city’s signature barbecue to former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. Its vinegar-based sauce is labeled "The President's Choice."

Obama hopes to highlight the issues facing the middle class by scheduling meetings with Americans who have written him. This summer he's shared meals with people in Minnesota, Colorado, Texas and elsewhere.

At Arthur Bryant's on Tuesday, Obama ordered a half slab of ribs and a Bud Light, though when he asked for cole slaw the restaurant's staff told him they had run out.

soundoff(371 Responses)

k

Obama is useless.

July 30, 2014 10:45 am at 10:45 am |

Friends

Why is Obama fundraising ? Maybe do you job instead/ Just a thought.

July 30, 2014 10:46 am at 10:46 am |

Rudy NYC

Nick

The House has passed 356 bills. 98 percent of those are with bipartisan votes. Two-thirds of them have had a two-thirds or higher majority in the House. Why won't Harry Reid put these to a vote? Why does Obama shout "obstructionists" while seemingly ignoring his own party's role in that obstruction? What are they afraid of – that something might pass and they wouldn't be able to demonize the other side?
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The Senate has different rules from the House. It's not always up to Harry Reid. Democrats can filibuster bills just as easily as Republicans can. Several of those "bills" the House passed were pure political theater: re-affirming their commitment to "In God We Trust"; or prohibiting the use of energy efficient light bulbs in federal buildings.

More than half of the bills passed by the House were what are commonly called "strategic votes." These are votes taken on bills so that they can make false claims on getting something done. For example, there is one statistic that you've overlooked. Roughly 20% of those bills were bills that repealed the Affordable Care Act, none of which had any hope of passing the inevitable presidential veto. Why waste the taxpayers time and money on bills that are a certainty to be vetoed?

July 30, 2014 10:47 am at 10:47 am |

chrissy

With all the things wrong in this country and all the things congress refused to complete...THIS is what they chore to work on??? And how much is THIS going to cost us??? Its ridiculous that they are going to sue the POTUS for doing his job, when they REFUSE to do theirs!!

July 30, 2014 10:48 am at 10:48 am |

Joe The Plumber

To paraphrase Shakespear, "Methinks the GOP protests too strongly." And so will the Dems and Independents – so POTUS had it right – "so sue me."

July 30, 2014 10:49 am at 10:49 am |

DD

Please just go to work with the congress like every predecessor before you and get the economy and unemployment and security of this country improved if not fixed. We are tired of your divisive antics spurring emotions that are not productive to this country. Quit your perpetual fund raising, and get to WORK, I know you are not used to having a real JOB but for a man that is supposed to be so smart you should have figured it out after the last 6 years.

July 30, 2014 10:50 am at 10:50 am |

Sniffit

"“Why not impeach instead of wasting $1 million to $2 million of the taxpayers’ money?" Jones asked. "If you’re serious about this, use what the founders of the Constitution gave us.” – Walter Jones (R-NC), commenting today on the lawsuit

""That’s why the Republican Party is in trouble," he said." Walter Jones (R-NC), commenting today about the lack of consensus and will in the GOP to just go ahead and impeach Obama

July 30, 2014 10:52 am at 10:52 am |

chrissy

Oops meant "chose" not chore. And its ironic that they are going on "summer break. When did they get off winter and spring break?

July 30, 2014 10:53 am at 10:53 am |

Tampa Tim

Nick – I think congress has passed 142 bills, not 356, thus making them the least effective house in the history of the US. Never put a drunken republican in charge of governing.

i know he is a very good man but to run the country the way he does, it harms more. Because if you are a good leader you will try to conpromise no matter how hard it is such as Clinton , Reagan. He keeps blame the other people for his failures, It shows to tge whoke world his weaknesses

July 30, 2014 10:58 am at 10:58 am |

Wes

obama is a disaster.

July 30, 2014 10:59 am at 10:59 am |

Sidewinder

No coleslaw?!? Quick, form a congressional witch hunt committee to investigate! Have Issa get right on that. Maybe there is a Benghazi tie in we aren't seeing here.

July 30, 2014 11:01 am at 11:01 am |

Anonymous

10 trillion debt alone...why isn't the thief in prison?

July 30, 2014 11:01 am at 11:01 am |

conoclast

Gee, if it weren't for the cynically gerrymandered districts (read: hand-picked "constituencies") the tea party people supposedly represent, voters could quickly remove this political cancer from our body-politic.

But the game IS rigged, isn't it.

July 30, 2014 11:02 am at 11:02 am |

Longtimer

Borderless

The last thing we need is for Obama to be distracted by a lawsuit. The man can't hardly manage his job as it is. Of course he also doesn't need the distraction of incessant fund raising but that doesn't stop him.
___________________________
If he can hardly do his job as you claim, why in God's name are the idiots in the House suing him? Get your lies straight.

July 30, 2014 11:03 am at 11:03 am |

critical thinking

Lets see, the President of the United States put his hand on the bible when sworn into office and pledges to execute the laws of the United States, so help him god. Then as President creates a law namely Obamacare and puts in the law a requirement for an employer mandate to either pay for health insurance for their employees or pay a fine. He then sees that the timing of this requirement in the law that he signed would negatively impact democratic candidates coming up for re-election, so he decides to change the law, and postpone the mandate till after the election cycle, which he is NOT PERMITTED TO DO ! And by doing so VIOLATES the constitution whereby only Congress can write or change laws and the President after signing the law is responsible to execute the law as written and signed by him. Then when presented with this and told that he had violated his authority as president and would then be taken to court to resolve it, our fearless leader said; "so sue me!" Then congress goes about the process of suing the President as he said and now the President is going around complaining about being sued and using it as a fundraising tactic. WOW! What a pathetic person we have as the leader of this great country. Absolutely pathetic.

July 30, 2014 11:04 am at 11:04 am |

1776usa2016

Good.

Suing the president for doing his job is one of the most ridiculous political stunts ever.

Here's a new plan, Boehner.

DO YOUR JOB. IN FACT, DO SOMETHING IN THAT GOP HOUSE OF OBSTRUCTION.

.

July 30, 2014 11:04 am at 11:04 am |

Longtimer

heyjoe1

EVERYTHING this President and his party touches is criminal or turns to garbage. I cannot wait to get a new group of responsible people in the White House and DC who actually lead and take responsibility rather than travel around the country and partying. What a travesty the American people have to put up with this for 8 long years. We can't afford any more clowns in DC.
___________________
You had better hope for a new political party them. The GOP has raised bench warming and doing nothing to a high art form.

July 30, 2014 11:05 am at 11:05 am |

kenman14

THIS is all the snake oil salesman knows to do!? Fundraising and playing golf is not the agenda of a LEADER when our nation, and the world, is in chaos partly due to the LACK of leadership from the "leader of the Free World"!

July 30, 2014 11:06 am at 11:06 am |

Longtimer

Lizzie

Obama has slammed the move as a political stunt, egging Republicans on with the quip "so sue me" during a speech in early July.
I am KING, bow before me, I can do as I want, everything you say is a farce, made up, or a lie. I can do no wrong.
+++++++++++++++++++
It is easy to look like the king when the people who are supposed to work with you are village idiots. It is a common mistake made by the woefully uninformed.

July 30, 2014 11:08 am at 11:08 am |

Realityblowz

For those of you that like to alter the title of Democrat or Republican to a demeaning alteration in the spelling to be demeaning, it makes your posts seem childish and not worth reading.
After the facts come out about how much money the insurance companies are being bailed out with right now due to the ACA, the Democrats can raise all of the money that they want, it will not alter the thrashing that they will receive at the polls this November due to the illegalities of this administration's changing of the ACA after it was implimented. The president is not allowed to change a law...end of story.
Additionally, with the amount of illegals being given the green light to enter the U.S. (that we will have to pay for) and the diseases that they are bringing (the police had to hunt down and arrest an illegal with contagious TB this week) the Democrats will take all of the blame, along with the trillions in debt incurred to achieve a false 3%-4% growth rate?
The mindless masses will then vote in the (Right) hand sock puppets and the cycle of Right versus Left will continue, and all of you will continue to insult each other as we all fall down the rabbit hole.

July 30, 2014 11:09 am at 11:09 am |

2016 or bust!

The only thing this guy can do is eat bbq and golf. That means It oo am qualified to be president of the United States. When will people wake up and realize that just because someone can tickle you ears with a bunch of feel good platitudes does not mean he is able to run a country. Wonder if there is nayway he'd take a severance package to leave sooner!

July 30, 2014 11:10 am at 11:10 am |

LAbelle

Anyone feeling that Republican 'trickle-down money' yet? Is anyone seeing all those millions of new jobs that Republican tax-breaks to the rich was going to bring about? The devil is in the details. We're too busy fighting with each other and ignoring what these filthy politicians are doing to our country. Direct your anger where it belongs; only politicians get to legislate.

July 30, 2014 11:12 am at 11:12 am |

rs

Meanwhile the GOP conveniently forgets that is has plotted against, and lied to this President, the President of the United States, since he was elected. They have thrown their idiot "birthers" at him; created the racists TEA Party and have whipped the John Birchers into a frenzy; they even had the idiocy to threaten violence with their so-called 2nd Amendment solutions.
I hope Mr. Obama names names and nails their sorry hides to the wall.

July 30, 2014 11:13 am at 11:13 am |

2016 or bust!

Golfing and eating bbq are his greatest accomplishments. The public trough is almost empty and he and Michele will actually have to work for a living soon.